EP 6 - The Quarterback and The Con Artist

Summary

Podcast Summary: Johnathan Walton Media — "The Quarterback and the Con Artist"

Episode 6: Snoop Doggy Do
Release Date: October 8, 2025
Host: Johnathan Walton

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Main Theme

In this gripping sixth episode, Johnathan Walton unpacks how former NFL quarterback Eric Kramer, still deeply compromised after his near-fatal suicide attempt, becomes the target of predation by an ex-girlfriend, Courtney Baird. The story unfolds through interviews with Eric’s family and friends, revealing how Courtney insinuates herself back into his life under the guise of caregiving, all while exploiting his vulnerable state for financial gain. Themes include the manipulation of vulnerable adults, the mechanics of financial abuse, and systemic failures in protecting victims.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Eric Kramer’s Vulnerable State (03:16–06:35)

• Memory Loss and Emotional Flatness: Eric reflects on having significant memory gaps and a flat range of emotions post-recovery:
  "There’s parts of those years where I remember nothing. There’s parts where I might remember, you know, 10 or 15% of a day. There’s so many missing parts." — Eric Kramer (03:16)

• Behavioral Changes Noticed by Family:

  • Eric attends his son Dylan’s football game but is oblivious to a key event (Dylan’s concussion), highlighting his cognitive disconnect (04:46).
  • Dylan notes, “He would just look at the TV… mindlessly and aimlessly. And that was something that he would never do before.” (05:26)
  • Dylan observes uncharacteristic passivity: Eric easily lends out his car, something he would never have done pre-injury (06:29).

Courtney Baird’s Re-Entry and Stalking (06:43–08:11)

• Unusual Presence:

  • Courtney appears at Eric’s house the day of his suicide attempt, despite not living nearby; Anna Durgan identifies this as stalking behavior (07:27).
  • Anna recalls, “I guarantee you she was stalking him.” — Anna Durgan (07:30)
  • Courtney had even checked LinkedIn profiles of women associated with Eric (07:30–07:45).

• Psychology of Con Artists:

  • The podcast notes that con artists often appear after a personal tragedy, offering help as a way in:
    “When there is a tragedy, con artists show up because they’re offering a solution… That is red flag number one of a professional con.” — Narrator/Investigator (08:25)

Family and Friends’ Distrust of Courtney (08:56–10:00)

• Longstanding Skepticism:
  • Friends and family never liked Courtney, believing she had an ulterior motive (gold digger) (09:05–09:39).
  • The tumultuous nature of her relationship with Eric (breaking up every 2–3 months) is cited as further evidence (09:42).

Courtney’s Aggressive Encroachment and Manipulation (10:06–16:40)

• Manipulating a Vulnerable Person:
  • Anna describes Eric post-attempt as easily suggestible, noting, “It was his basically plug and play. Like, you tell him what to do and he just does it.” (10:11)
  • Courtney intensifies contact: incessant texts, calls—even during Eric’s intensive rehab, she’s described as constantly interrupting his therapy (14:51–16:01).
  • Anna notes, “She literally did not stop texting or calling even while he was in Vegas… The administrator called and said, look, I don’t know who Eric’s talking to, but I think it’s some girl by the name of Courtney. And she’s interrupting his treatment.” (15:07)

Courtney Moves In and Seizes Control (18:12–19:18)

• Secret Return and “Moving In”:

  • Courtney flies to Las Vegas, picks Eric up, and brings him to Los Angeles, effectively moving herself and her daughter into Eric's home without informing family or friends (18:12–18:44).
  • Evidence appears quickly: Anna finds belongings, packed rooms—“Her daughter had a room already set up… with her personal stuff. I’m like, okay, we didn’t know about that.” — Anna Durgan (18:58)

• Disguising as Caregiver:

  • Courtney hosts dinners, ingratiates herself with Eric’s circle, and plays the role of doting partner while hiding ulterior motives.

Red Flags and Courtney’s Intentions Revealed (19:43–22:14)

• Out-of-character Reactions:

  • Dylan shares: after a serious car accident, instead of Eric being upset, he’s oddly nonreactive. Courtney advises Dylan:
    “Just tell him, he’ll be fine.” — She seems to know Eric’s state can be readily exploited (20:16–20:43).

• Direct Admission from Courtney’s Daughter:

  • “Eric’s gonna buy my mom, me and my mom, a house with a pool in it.” — Courtney's daughter (21:12)
    • Anna notes, “Something’s off here.” (21:33)

• Financial Red Flags:

  • Courtney claims to be on a leave of absence as caregiver—a violation of normal HR practice.
  • Anna spots a constant influx of Amazon packages addressed to Courtney, though she is not working (22:14).

Uncovering Financial Exploitation (24:15–27:34)

• Anna’s Forensic Investigation:
  • Anna repars a laptop with Eric's account info, logs in, and uncovers “ATM transactions every day, sometimes four or five hundred dollars a day” (25:05).
  • Courtney is seen shopping extravagantly, making large purchases, and discussing expensive elective procedures—all on Eric's dime (25:36).
  • Discovery of purchases of Visa gift cards—classic scammer currency, hard to trace and irreversible (26:54–27:08).

Courtney’s Criminal Past and Legal System Failure (27:34–29:02)

• Revealing a Rap Sheet:

  • Courtney was on probation for felony forgery for doctoring a prescription for drugs (27:43–28:17).
  • Anna was shocked to find, “All the payments that she was making for that restitution was coming out of Eric’s accounts.” (28:40)

• System Gaps in Probation & Protection:

  • The podcast details systemic failures: probation officers and the courts are generally unresponsive unless the perpetrator is convicted of a new crime, making victims easy prey for repeat offenders (29:02).

The “Checkmate”: Marriage as Legal Immunity (31:04–32:41)

• Detective Investigation:

  • Detective Dave Lynxite builds a strong case of financial abuse and criminal acts, expecting prosecution (31:10–31:30).

• Courtney Secretly Marries Eric:

  • In a final twist, Courtney secretly marries Eric, nullifying many legal consequences because, as a spouse, she gains legal standing over his life and finances (31:30–32:37).
    • “She actually marries Eric in a secret ceremony behind the backs of his friends and family, and the criminal case against her sort of goes away.” — Jonathan Walton (31:30)
    • Detective Chris German clarifies:
      “It would give her immunity from any type of criminal prosecution because they’re married. What’s his is hers.” (32:29–32:37)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Eric’s Mental State After the Injury:
  “So not only didn’t I remember, if I did remember, I wouldn’t care.” — Eric Kramer (03:58)
• On Family’s Initial Reaction to Courtney’s Return:
  “We would not think that anybody would be coming in here and trying to steal from him, that would just be cruel.” — Anna Durgan (02:41)
• On Anna’s Relentless Investigation:
  “I start investigating, going over every single line item… she’s buying gift cards. Boy, that is classic scammer currency.” — Anna Durgan/Narrator (26:37–27:04)
• On Systemic Failure to Protect Victims:
  “You would think, because she’s on probation… this is going to really count against her. But nobody seems to give a crap. The counties don’t speak to each other… So what does probation even mean? It means nothing.” — Anna Durgan/Narrator (28:57–29:02)
• On the Marriage Twist:
  “She actually marries Eric in a secret ceremony… the criminal case against her sort of goes away.” — Jonathan Walton (31:30) “It would give her immunity from any type of criminal prosecution because they’re married. What’s his is hers.” — Detective Chris German (32:29–32:37)
• On the Exploitation:
  “To take advantage of Eric’s state of being incapacitated… is sort of diabolical, to be honest.” — Anna Durgan (30:26)

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Important Timestamps

• Eric’s Amnesia and Passivity: 03:16–06:35
• Courtney's Stalking Behavior: 06:43–08:11
• Friends and Family Express Doubts: 08:56–10:00
• Courtney’s Encroachment Intensifies: 10:06–16:40
• Courtney Moves In: 18:12–19:18
• Dylan’s Acknowledgment of Eric’s Personality Change: 19:43–20:44
• Courtney’s Daughter Reveals Motives: 21:12–21:33
• Anna Uncovers Financial Abuse: 24:15–27:34
• Courtney’s Criminal Record: 27:34–28:39
• Marriage as Legal Immunity Twist: 31:04–32:41

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Conclusion

This episode exposes with clarity and empathy the devastating vulnerability of traumatic brain injury survivors to manipulative exploitation. Through firsthand accounts, financial forensics, and insights into criminal justice limitations, listeners gain a visceral sense of how cunning abusers operate — and how the system sometimes fails to protect. The episode ends with the bitter revelation that marriage can act as a legal shield for abusers, rendering even the best-prepared criminal case effectively moot.

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If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to speak to a counselor for free.

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Transcript

[Jonathan Walton]

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[Jeff Bridges]

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[Dana]

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[Anna Durgan]

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[Dana]

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[Jonathan Walton]

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[Jeff Bridges]

So what are we having for lunch?

[Dana]

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[Jonathan Walton]

Mobile.Com this series deals with troubling topics including suicide, drug overdosing and dependent adult abuse. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 right now and speak with a counselor for free. Previously on the Quarterback and the Con Artist.

[Anna Durgan]

Eric's the demeanor throughout his recovery was childlike.

[Chris German]

He couldn't really stay focused on one thing.

[Jonathan Walton]

And at this point, Eric Kramer has the equivalent brain capacity of a six year old.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Whenever you told him to do something, he just did it for the most part.

[Anna Durgan]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

And then all of a sudden, an ex girlfriend from Eric's past shows up out of nowhere.

[Chris German]

I can see that she was a gold digger.

[Jonathan Walton]

Well, she says she just wants to help Eric make a full recovery. And she appears to want to take care of him and nurse him back to health. But make no mistake, this woman is concealing an ulterior motive. A fact that is about to become abundantly clear to everyone in Eric Kramer's life.

[Anna Durgan]

We would not think that anybody would be coming in here and trying to steal from him, that would just be cruel.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm Jonathan Walton, and this is the quarterback and the con artist, Episode six, Snoop Doggy do.

[Eric Kramer]

So there's parts of those years where I remember nothing. There's parts where I might remember, you know, 10 or 15% of a day. There's so many missing parts.

[Jonathan Walton]

Sitting across from Eric Kramer now, it's hard to imagine what he was like just a few years ago, just during his recovery from that gunshot to the head.

[Eric Kramer]

My range of emotions in a day was very flat. Like, there was no spike, there was no excitement. I could have won the lottery.

[Anna Durgan]

A $900 million Powerball jackpot grand prize is up for grabs tonight.

[Eric Kramer]

Guess how much difference it would have made?

[Narrator/Investigator]

0.

[Eric Kramer]

So not only didn't I remember, if I did remember, I wouldn't care.

[Jonathan Walton]

And this is what's so hard for me to wrap my head around. After Eric recovered physically from the gunshot wound, he looked normal for the most part, and he did normal everyday activities like play golf, eat out at restaurants, and even drive a car.

[Eric Kramer]

But I wasn't even aware that I was driving when I was driving.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eric also made a point of attending football games that his son Dylan was playing in. But just because he was there didn't mean he was all there.

[Dylan Kramer]

I had gotten my second concussion in.

[Jonathan Walton]

Football, Eric's son Dylan.

[Dylan Kramer]

And like, as it's happening, like, I'm, like, getting, you know, attended to by sports med people. My dad, as it's happening, like, goes to the snack shack and gets, like, some chili fries or something. And, like, it's not registering, right, that.

[Narrator/Investigator]

You are concussed and need medical attention.

[Dylan Kramer]

Right?

[Narrator/Investigator]

And he's getting chili fries, right?

[Dylan Kramer]

So that would be an example. And I would just say little things like that. Oh, what was the other thing that he would do? He would just look at the tv.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Yeah, that's what I hear.

[Dylan Kramer]

Just mindlessly and aimlessly. And that was something that he would never do before. I remember I had come out to visit. I came out with my girlfriend at the time. So he hadn't met my girlfriend at the time, and he was staying with my Aunt Kelly here in Vegas. And I was, you know, obviously hearing that he's not the same guy. He's different. He's scrolling on the tv. He's just aimlessly watching yada yada yada. But then I remember, like, one of the nights staying there, and it was kind of later at night, and just. Just impromptu, I asked him to borrow his car for me to go get Some like ice cream or whatever, which doesn't sound like a big deal at all. Just knowing him before and after, he would never just easily just hand you the keys. Just like, yeah, go take my ride, go. I've never met this girl before. Go take this girl. You're going to say you're going to get ice cream. I trust you. You know, like that just wasn't his nature. His nature was a little bit more like just suspicious. Suspicious like a dad?

[Narrator/Investigator]

Yeah, like a dad, you know? Yeah.

[Dylan Kramer]

And so that was like, huh.

[Narrator/Investigator]

And he just like he let you take his car.

[Dylan Kramer]

Like that was way too easy. That was strange. That's sort of out of his behavior.

[Jonathan Walton]

And what Dylan is unaware of as all this is going on is that Eric's ex girlfriend, Courtney Baird, is trying like mad to get a hold of him. She's emailing, calling and texting him ad nauseam. In fact, the day Eric Kramer shoots himself in the head back on August 18, 2015, and all of Eric's friends and family are frantically searching for him, unaware that he's in a hospital ER undergoing emergency surgery.

[Anna Durgan]

But guess who shows up on the day that we're all looking for Eric. It's at Eric's house.

[Jonathan Walton]

Courtney showed up there.

[Anna Durgan]

How would she know?

[Jonathan Walton]

Eric's childhood friend, Anna Durgan.

[Anna Durgan]

I guarantee you she was stalking him. Oh, because Eric started dating a girl. She told me that she saw that Courtney had checked out her LinkedIn page or something like that.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Yeah, because if you subscribe to LinkedIn, you can see who visits your profile.

[Anna Durgan]

Correct. So I think Courtney had been stalking Eric because there was no reason for her to be in that vicinity the.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Day he, he shot himself.

[Anna Durgan]

She's there along with everybody else, seeing cop cars and everything else. And she's there.

[Narrator/Investigator]

So what you're saying is she was already stalking him, so when she saw the cop cars, it is how she knew something happened?

[Anna Durgan]

Correct. Why was she there? She didn't live even in the neighborhood. There's no reason. And this, and his street is like really just a one. It's a dead end street type of thing. There's no reason for her to be there.

[Narrator/Investigator]

And I've investigated, gosh, hundreds of con artist cases over the past eight years. And this is the thing. When there is a tragedy, con artists show up because they're offering a solution. And everyone is so mesmerized by the tragedy and, and desperate to believe something good is going to happen or could happen that they don't notice. That is red flag number one of a Professional con is they offer to help and they get in there.

[Jonathan Walton]

Back when they were dating, Eric's friends and family were not fans of Courtney Baird at all.

[Chris German]

You know, Eric and I used to get together quite a bit.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eric's good friend Robert Espinosa.

[Chris German]

So we'd go out, you know, my wife and him and Courtney. But a couple times they just got in some pretty nasty fights. And one time I was in front of his house and we're talking, he goes, oh, I wanted to let you know that, you know, Courtney and I split up. And I said, well, I'm going to tell you what I've been thinking is she's not for you. She is not a good woman for you. So I'm very glad you split up and I hope you guys stay that way.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eric's mom, Eileen wasn't on Team Courtney either.

[Anna Durgan]

Eileen didn't like Courtney.

[Jonathan Walton]

Anna Durkin.

[Anna Durgan]

She could see Courtney was a gold digger, you know, And I can just say from what all the times that Eric told me about Courtney, they broke up. More like in the three year relationship, I would say they broke up six to eight times. So just think about that. They're breaking up every two to three months.

[Jonathan Walton]

And then while Eric is in the hospital recovering from that gunshot wound.

[Anna Durgan]

Eric didn't have his phone. We took his phone away from him. He didn't have a laptop.

[Narrator/Investigator]

And was he missing those things? No, no, because he didn't. It was his basically plug and play. Like, you tell him what to do and he just does it. You tell him what to think and he thinks it.

[Anna Durgan]

Anybody that told him, let's do this.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Ok, so you took his phone, he took his laptop. And he didn't be like, hey, where's my phone? Where's my laptop?

[Anna Durgan]

Like when I'm telling you he was hypnotized by the TV for seven, eight hours at a time without getting up to use the restroom.

[Jonathan Walton]

And after snatching his phone, Anna is shocked to discover that even before Eric's suicide attempt, months before, Courtney was keeping close tabs on him.

[Anna Durgan]

And when we took away his phone, I started reading some of the text messages. Me, Snoop Doggy Dog was reading, was reading some of the text messages. And one of the text messages she wrote to him in May of that year, May of 2015, she said something about, oh, so you met this girl and you're dating a girl from the gym and you're probably grooming her, something of that nature. So again, this is four months after he ended it with her.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Right.

[Anna Durgan]

And she's still sending these kind of text messages to him. So you tell me, doesn't that sound like someone who's still obsessed with him?

[Narrator/Investigator]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

And now that Eric is recovering from that brain injury, he doesn't remember breaking up with Courtney. I mean he doesn't remember a lot of things.

[Narrator/Investigator]

It was wild.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eric's friend Chris, Germany.

[Chris German]

His long term memory was amazing. Short term, he couldn't remember a thing. Very agreeable. I mean you could have told him anything. Oh, okay.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

And early on after Eric is discharged from the hospital and is at home. And his childhood friend Anna Durgan has rearranged her entire life around his treatment and she's staying at his house to help take care of him. One day out of the blue, Courtney Bear just shows up. What do you get when you have a bald eagle standing on top of a silverback gorilla that's riding on top of a T. Rex? Confidence. Pure confidence. The kind of confidence that you really need in the bedroom. That's where Rugiette's Go Long comes in. This isn't just another ED pill, it's a confidence game changer. Go Long combines two doctor trusted medications and one dual action formula to help you get hard and go the distance. Plus effects last for up to 36 hours. Which means you can feel confident all day and night and then some of the next day too. Getting started is simple. Connect with A board certified doctor 100% online at rugiat.com R U G I E T.com if prescribed, you're treatment ships discreetly to your door. Ready to level up your confidence in the bedroom, head to rug.com and use my promo code Walton for 15 off your first order. That's R U G I T.com code Walton. Make sure to use my code so they know I sent you.

[Anna Durgan]

I got to Eric's house from my accounting class and who was there at the kitchen table? Courtney.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Wow.

[Anna Durgan]

Now mind you, I have to take him to treatment every morning and drop him off. Drive in. So he lives at Agora. I'm dropping him off in Encino to get his treatment. I'm driving to Santa Monica to work. Go from Santa Monica back to Encino to pick him up and then go back to Agora. And she was there at the kitchen table. She was there until one in the morning. So where does she leave her daughter? Who does she leave her daughter with? Her daughter must have been like 8 or 9 or 10 at the time. Who does that? Like who stays at someone's house midweek and stays until 1:30 in the morning.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Someone with a plan.

[Anna Durgan]

And then I Snoop doggy dog again. I was upstairs listening, hey, yes. And you know, we missed you so much. And he always thought of you as a father to figure to her again. He is Courtney's daughter. I'm like, wow, she's laying it on thick.

[Narrator/Investigator]

She's trying to get in there.

[Jonathan Walton]

A couple days go by, and when Eric is getting transferred from his Los Angeles area home to a treatment facility in Las Vegas before he leaves, she.

[Anna Durgan]

Comes over again before going into work, brings over a card and a little stuffed animal. And I hear them. I didn't say shit to her. And she says, okay, Eric, don't stay away too long. Come back, you know, oh, I'm only going out for. Eric didn't know shit. He didn't even know anything. I'm only going out for a couple weeks. And she literally did not stop texting or calling even while he was in Vegas. And he was getting treatment there five days a week, eight hours a day. And the administrator called and said, look, I don't know who Eric's talking to, but I think it's. I believe it's some girl by the name of Courtney. And she's interrupting his treatment. He's on the phone consistently. Then he walks outside, and we have to keep asking him to come back in because he keeps missing his treatments because he's on the phone. I mean, again, he's still in the very early stages of his recovery. Anybody who knew Eric knew that he wasn't right.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Right?

[Anna Durgan]

She knew he wasn't right. Oh, clearly everybody did.

[Jonathan Walton]

While Eric is in Las Vegas, by day, he's working full time on his recovery, doing intense physical therapy and brain rehab, albeit with Courtney's interruptions. By night, he's staying with his sister and her kids, and they're keeping a watchful eye on him. And they all inadvertently have a front row seat to the barrage of phone calls and text messages coming from Courtney Baird, who's back in Los Angeles.

[Anna Durgan]

So when Courtney would call Eric's sister Kelly, she could overhear just one side, obviously, of the conversation. And she could only hear what Eric was saying. Oh, yeah, well, that's not what she told me, but okay, I'll tell her that. Okay, I'll tell her that. And then it was like, Kelly, God, you know, she felt like, what can she do? Because she can't hear, but she's calling me and saying, I can't believe this is what this bitch is saying. She's trying to turn him against me. Courtney was basically Telling Eric, you do not have to stay there. You can come back home to Agora. I'll help you. I'll take care of you. I'll take you to the doctors. And that's what got him to leave.

[Jonathan Walton]

And here's the thing. In the beginning, it really did appear as if Courtney was genuinely trying to help, that she had Eric's best interest at heart. So as many reservations as Ana and everyone else had about what was unfolding before their eyes, there was still a nuclear level of conflicted feelings on the matter.

[Anna Durgan]

And to be honest, they had a very bad relationship, A very toxic, destructive relationship. Why all of a sudden does she want to come back? But at the same time, we thought, okay, Eric needs help still. So having someone oversee him or watch over him from time to time or whatever the case may be could be good. Correct.

[Jonathan Walton]

So on April 16, 2016, unbeknownst to anyone in Eric's life, Courtney secretly flies out to Las Vegas, picks Eric up, and drives him back to Los Angeles in his own car and moves him back into is Agora Hill's home. And then she sort of low key moves in with him, which surprised Anna and everyone else.

[Anna Durgan]

I went over there on April 25th because we had some follow up doctor's appointments. And when I went over the house, she was gone and so was her daughter. But I can see all their stuff. They're already, you know, setting up house.

[Narrator/Investigator]

They'Re moving into Eric's house.

[Anna Durgan]

There was clothes, there was stuffed animals, there were blow dryers and stuff like that. I'm like, huh? So she must be already spending the night and staying the night. Cause the daughter had a room already set up with her. Personal stuff. I'm like, okay, we didn't know about that.

[Jonathan Walton]

As the weeks tick by, Courtney manages to convince Eric's friends and family that she means well and that she's really looking out for Eric, surprised me. She hosts dinners for them at Eric's house and plays the compassionate, doting girlfriend to a tee. But looking back, there were certain tells Courtney exhibited that revealed what she was really up to.

[Dylan Kramer]

This was probably the first time I realized, like, my dad wasn't there anymore.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eric's son Dylan, who had just flipped his car at the time, he was okay, but his Honda was not. And he was beside himself with worry about how to tell his dad in the past. Stuff like that would really upset Eric and he disciplined Dylan. So Dylan first tells Courtney that he flipped his car and asks her advice on how best to break the news to his dad.

[Dylan Kramer]

Because she said, like, yeah, just tell him he'll be fine. And so I ended up telling my dad. I ended up flipping this car.

[Jonathan Walton]

It was no big deal.

[Dylan Kramer]

No big deal at all. And, like, for whatever reason, that, like, I just didn't even notice that, like, little comment. But looking back on it, that's, like, just a weird thing to say.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Oh, so you asked Courtney, hey, I just flipped my car. I'm scared to tell my dad. What should I do? And she said, quote, just tell him he'll be fine. Yeah, as if she knew anything you told him would just roll off his back.

[Dylan Kramer]

Exactly.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Huh.

[Dylan Kramer]

And I didn't pick up on that at the time. And looking back on it, as I'm telling the story right now, I'm just putting it together, like, oh, like, that's where that comment came from.

[Narrator/Investigator]

She kind of gave herself away.

[Dylan Kramer]

Right?

[Narrator/Investigator]

Yeah. Like, I. You can do anything. He won't know.

[Dylan Kramer]

Right.

[Jonathan Walton]

And then weeks later, when Anna and Eric's sister and nephews come by the house to see him, Courtney's young daughter is there. And she shockingly lets slip a revelation that shakes on a durging to her core.

[Anna Durgan]

We're over for a visit. And then her daughter goes, yeah, Eric's gonna buy my mom, me and my mom, a house with. With a pool in it.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, my God.

[Anna Durgan]

I'm like, this is in August of 2016.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Eric's gonna buy me, my mom, a house with a pool in it.

[Anna Durgan]

Exactly what she said. And I'm like, okay, it's. Something's off here.

[Jonathan Walton]

And the other thing that really alarms Ana is the fact that Courtney is no longer working at her office job.

[Anna Durgan]

She said she took a leave of absence to care for Eric. And I'm like, I'm an HR expert. You cannot take a leave of absence from work to care for a quote, unquote friend or a boy boyfriend.

[Jonathan Walton]

All of a sudden, it starts to feel like every time Anna comes over to check up on Eric, she makes another troubling discovery.

[Anna Durgan]

Now I'm seeing all these Amazon boxes addressed to Courtney Baird on, like, the doorstep inside the house boxes. Like, we're like, four or five boxes. I'm like, what the hell? All addressed to Courtney Baird. Hmm. Now, this is the person who stopped working who is on a leave of absence. And I'm like, no. How does she have any money to pay for this?

[Jonathan Walton]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

[Jeff Bridges]

Morning, Zoe. Got donuts.

[Dana]

Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above our garage?

[Jeff Bridges]

Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T mobile commercial like you teach me. So Dana.

[Dana]

Oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at T Mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system.

[Jeff Bridges]

Wow, impressive. Let me try. T mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network.

[Anna Durgan]

Nice.

[Dana]

Jeffrey, you heard them.

[Jeff Bridges]

T mobile is the best place to.

[Jonathan Walton]

Get get the new iPhone 17 Pro on us with eligible traded in any condition.

[Jeff Bridges]

So what are we having for launch?

[Dana]

Dude, my work here is done.

[T-Mobile Ad Voice]

The 24 month build credit is on experience beyond for well qualified customers. Plus tax and $35 device connection charge credit send and balance due if you pay off earlier Cancel Finance agreement. IPhone 17 Pro 256 gigs $1,099.99 A new line minimum $100 plus a month plan with auto pay plus taxes and fees required. Best mobile network in the US based on analysis by O Speed Test Intelligence data 18 to 2025 Visit T mobile.com.

[Jonathan Walton]

At that point, Anna starts snooping.

[Anna Durgan]

Snoop Doggy dog.

[Narrator/Investigator]

I like that as your code name.

[Jonathan Walton]

Back when she's staying at Eric's house, before Courtney's on the scene, Anna is the one logging into Eric's bank accounts, making sure all his bills get paid. But then she kind of loses access to his login info.

[Anna Durgan]

I had a laptop that had all his account information that no longer worked. The screen wouldn't come on. So I took that laptop to go get fixed. So I can see because I needed to get that hard drive.

[Narrator/Investigator]

So you had a laptop with all the passwords and usernames already saved.

[Anna Durgan]

Already saved that could log into his accounts? Correct.

[Jonathan Walton]

So Anna rushes to get her laptop fixed and as quickly as she can, logs back into Eric's bank accounts.

[Anna Durgan]

That's my notice. All these ATM transactions like we're talking every day, sometimes four or five hundred dollars a day.

[Narrator/Investigator]

So she would take his ATM card.

[Anna Durgan]

Yes. Remember he would be stuck in front of a tv.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Yeah. And she just goes to the ATM and withdraws money. She knew. His pen.

[Anna Durgan]

Everything. She knew.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Wow.

[Jonathan Walton]

Ana starts noticing a lot of other suspicious stuff too.

[Anna Durgan]

She's not working. She's going to TJ Maxx. She's just throwing things in the basket without even looking at the price. Just loading up her cart, right? Not even looking at the price tag. You know, I make six figures. I look at the fucking price tag.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Oh, everyone does.

[Anna Durgan]

Not her. She saw it, she liked it. She just threw it in there. And then she started talking about getting plastic surgery because her eyelids were so closed, it made it look like she was really tired. So she wanted to get the eyelid. And we asked out of curiosity, how much would that cost? And she said, about four or five thousand dollars. So then I start looking. She put in a deposit for $500 for plastic surgery for an eye doctor in Thousand Oaks.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Damn.

[Jonathan Walton]

It soon becomes obvious to Ana that Courtney is, in fact, stealing from Eric with reckless abandon.

[Anna Durgan]

So I start investigating, going over every single line item, every single charge in multiple accounts, and you can see Vons, Vons, Vons, 200, 300, 400, Cvs264. What was she doing? Gift cards.

[Narrator/Investigator]

She's buying gift cards. Boy, that is like classic scammer currency. Though, when you hear about all these scams that happen where they trick the elderly to pay the irs, it's always.

[Jonathan Walton]

With a gift card. Go buy a gift card.

[Anna Durgan]

Gift card. Gift cards.

[Jonathan Walton]

Visa gift cards, to be exact. Scammers actually prefer gift cards because they're hard to trace and no personal information is required to use them. And most retailers cannot reverse transactions made with gift cards. And that makes it nearly impossible for victims to get any money back.

[Narrator/Investigator]

So the supermarket and the cvs, those were just ways for her to get gift cards?

[Anna Durgan]

Correct.

[Jonathan Walton]

The other startling fact that Anna Durgan turns up in her investigation is that Courtney actually has a rap sheet.

[Anna Durgan]

She was on probation for forgery, a.

[Jonathan Walton]

Crime she committed in May of 2015, three months before Eric attempts to take his life.

[Anna Durgan]

She apparently forged a doctor's prescription. She was busted for forging a doctor's prescription to get drugs or prescription drugs that she pled down. It was felony that she pled down to a misdemeanor. She was arrested in November. November 2015. So while Eric's in recovery.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Right.

[Anna Durgan]

She's arrested. She pleads guilty in January. I think it was either 20th or 22nd, 2016.

[Narrator/Investigator]

How you know these dates? Off the top of the.

[Anna Durgan]

I'm like Erin Brockovich. My mind just works. This is the 20th or 22nd. So she's on probation, 36 month probation in January 2016, and starts stealing from Eric. And April 2016.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Wow.

[Anna Durgan]

All the payments that she was making for that restitution was coming out of Eric's accounts.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Oh, my God. And you would think, And I used to think this, too, but I was so naive. You would think, because she's on probation, oh, this is going to really count against her. But nobody seems to give a crap.

[Anna Durgan]

The counties don't speak to each other.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Exactly. So what does probation even mean? It means nothing.

[Anna Durgan]

Nothing.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Because the same thing happened to me with my con artist.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah, I was the victim of a duplicitous con artist, too. I chronicle my nightmare in the Queen of the Con podcast. My con woman was convicted of scamming me out of close to $100,000 and sentenced to five years in jail. But one year and 11 months later, she's out, free as a bird, scamming up a storm.

[Narrator/Investigator]

And I'm gathering all this evidence of all these new cons, all these new victims, and I call her probation officer. He won't talk to me. I leave message, message, message, message. Finally, someone calls back and says it's not a violation until they're convicted of something.

[Jonathan Walton]

And I'm like, you got it? You know how hard it is to get someone convicted of anything.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Like.

[Anna Durgan]

But they're on probation, saying that they will obey all laws and not commit.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Any more crimes, but they only consider it a crime if there's a conviction.

[Anna Durgan]

Conviction.

[Narrator/Investigator]

Ah, it's like, damned if you do, damned if you don't. Courtney, she's stealing from Eric while she's on probation for a whole other crime she did earlier. And she's using Eric's money that she stole to pay restitution in that case. And that apparently doesn't count against her.

[Anna Durgan]

Nope.

[Jonathan Walton]

As the months pass, Courtney continues living with Eric under the guise of taking care of him. Meanwhile, she's stealing from Eric, knowing full well he's not all there mentally.

[Anna Durgan]

It's sort of diabolical, to be honest. That's what I refer to Courtney as a diabolical individual. To take advantage of Eric's state of being incapacitated. Very childlike, like, you know, stealing from a child or stealing from an elderly person. It was disgusting.

[Jonathan Walton]

Ana takes all the evidence she's gathered at this point, bank records and credit card statements, and meets with detectives from the Fraud and Cyber Crimes Bureau at the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and convinces them to open an investigation.

[Chris German]

The evidence suggested that his finances had been compromised.

[Jonathan Walton]

Detective Dave Lynxite is assigned the case. He's been investigating financial crimes for 24 years at this point, and he digs in and starts unraveling the sprawling tentacles of Courtney Baird's many criminal acts.

[Chris German]

During the course of these kinds of investigations, I basically start reconstructing everything.

[Jonathan Walton]

It is a laborious and time consuming process and it takes Detective Linksheit months. But he manages to build an airtight slam dunk of a criminal case. And he's confident the Los Angeles District Attorney Attorney's office will charge Courtney Baird with multiple felonies. But then Courtney Baird makes her checkmate move. She actually marries Eric in a secret ceremony behind the backs of his friends and family, and the criminal case against her Sweet sort of goes away.

[Chris German]

Absolutely criminal, 100% criminal.

[Jonathan Walton]

That's Chris German again, a friend of Eric's who at the time is also a detective with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

[Narrator/Investigator]

What do you think she was thinking that this marriage would do for her?

[Chris German]

It would give her immunity from any type of criminal prosecution because they're married. What's his is hers.

[Narrator/Investigator]

What's hers is his.

[Jonathan Walton]

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, call or text 988-right- now and speak with a counselor for free. If you're enjoying the Quarterback and the Con Artist, click that share button right now and text it to your friends and family. And if you can, leave us a five star review. The Quarterback and the Con Artist is produced, written and hosted by me, Jonathan Walton for Jonathan Walton Media executive producers Eric Kramer and Anna Durgan. Audio engineering by Justin Longer beam editing and sound design by Hansdale she legal counsel provided by Ken Sterling from Sterling Media Law. We've got a lot of incredible stories in the works at Jonathan Walton Media so make sure you subscribe and keep an ear out.

[Libsyn Ads Host]

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